


The Scales On Our Eyes

by RomancebyFaye



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Angst, Emotional Turmoil, First Time, Garak's POV, M/M, Mistaken Identity, Misunderstandings, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-07
Updated: 2014-10-07
Packaged: 2018-02-20 06:01:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2417621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomancebyFaye/pseuds/RomancebyFaye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Julian and Garak deal with the fallout of Changeling Julian's unmasking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Scales On Our Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after By Inferno's Light.

The Scales on Our Eyes

* * *

  
It had been five days and Garak was still having trouble sleeping after the events in the Dominion prison camp. His bout with claustrophobia had left him with some echoes of discomfort even though he was still back on the station. Even though it was far roomier than his little workplace in the walls of an enemy prison, he had yet been able to stand working a full day in his shop.  
  
When he had opened it on the morning after they had returned - he wasn’t one to sit idle even after traumatizing events - he had been caught completely off guard by the wave of panic that set in when he slipped into the smaller back room for supplies. He had snatched what he needed from the shelves and bolted back to the main floor. It had taken him several minutes to bring himself back under control, but each time he entered the smaller room the panic returned. For four days he had repeated this, and for four days he had returned to his quarters early, shaking and unnerved.  
  
Garak had on occasion experienced small patches of claustrophobia, but never in a place he considered his territory, and never had they rushed in without any warning. The unexpectedness of the symptoms was almost as bad as the symptoms themselves. It was quite unacceptable, but he currently couldn’t see any way to remedy the situation. Garak wasn’t a therapist, but he was sure that the discovery of the real Doctor - and the implication that _his_ Doctor was not indeed _his_ Doctor - wasn’t helping. Even the passing of Enabran Tain hadn't affected him as much as that discovery. Truth be told, the death of his Father should _help_ him sleep, not the opposite.  
  
With a sigh he placed down the book of poetry that usually soothed him and rose to look out at the stars.  
  
It was so beautiful; all the planets, the galaxies beyond reach, the worlds untold still out there waiting to be discovered. So vast, and yet so tiny.

Step through a wormhole and find entire new worlds to explore. And new dangers, new enemies...new wars.

  
He sighed again and wrapped his arms around himself. He was cold. Well, he was always cold, but this was deeper; a never ending chill that sank farther than just the flesh. It had been plaguing him ever since he stepped into that cursed prison and met the real Doctor Bashir.  
  
Oh, Cardassia, how he missed her sunshine, her arid breeze, her harsh beauty and harsher ideals. What he wouldn’t give to walk on her soil once more, to bask in the heat of her sun and _forget_ , just for a moment. But that path was closed, and the chances of it opening again were rapidly disappearing.

He shivered and let himself sink into uncharacteristic melancholy as he watched for his beloved home to slip into view in the porthole. He watched, even though it would be hours yet before he was graced with the sight of her.  
  
He would have stood there all night if not for the sound of his door chime. He ignored it, hoping they would just go away. The someone on the other side obviously had no such intentions as they began to abuse his poor door chime, rings overlapping in an extremely annoying - and _rude_ \- fashion. When that didn’t help, the someone began to physically pound on the door.  
  
There were scarce few who came calling to Garak's quarters, and scarcer still was the number of people who would dare to pound on his door in the middle of the night. Even though there had been no doubt in Garak's mind as to who was on the other side, it was made certain when the someone started yelling in between hammering their fists on his door.  
  
“Garak! I know you’re in there! Open the damned door!” The Doctor barely paused to take a breath before he began pounding on the door again. _“Garak!”_  
  
Garak closed his eyes, took a steadying breath, painted on his best bland smile, and moved to open the door.  
  
He didn’t even have time to give his usual greeting before Julian pushed bodily past him. Garak watched him with careful wariness as the Human stomped into his quarters a small distance and then abruptly stopped. The Doctor stood that way for several moments, not turning to face Garak, his fists clenched and his breath coming heavily. Even from Garak‘s view of his back, it was obvious that Julian was radiating anger. He was disheveled, the Starfleet uniform wrinkled and dirty, as if it had been pulled on in a hurry without regard to its condition. 

  
Garak eyed the Human’s back, shifting his weight subtly from foot to foot as he decided on the best course of action. For several seconds they stood there, Julian quivering in anger and Garak waiting in suspense, unsure of what he was about to face.  
  
Finally, Garak couldn’t take it anymore. Unable to stand the silence, ready to face his judgment and just get it over with, he spoke, “Doctor! What a pleasure to see you out and about again. However, this isn’t the best time for me-.”  
  
Only his conditioned reflexes saved his nose from being smashed with a remarkably quick blow. He found himself dancing backwards as an absolutely furious Julian launched an attack on his person. When his attempt at escape proved surprisingly futile, he settled into dodging and blocking each strike. When it became obvious that the Doctor had quite more stamina that Garak might have guessed, he decided that perhaps immobilizing the incensed Human would be a better course of action. He really didn’t want to go on the offensive unless it was absolutely necessary.  
  
He managed to catch one fist in his hand, and stepping into the slimmer man’s reach, he was able to pin the attacking arm under his own with a strong grip. This left the pair quite close together and Garak smiled benignly into the enraged Doctor’s face.  
  
“Perhaps you’d like to talk, hm?” He kept his voice deliberately even, careful not to let any of the excitement pounding along in his blood creep through. He hadn't expected Julian capable of such acts of aggression. He slipped into the careful cover of his words and voice, knowing Julian would find his tone both mocking and condescending. He hoped it would shame him into stopping his attack before Garak was forced to do more than evade.  
  
Instead, Julian _snarled_ at him. The beautiful creature actually showed his _teeth_ and snarled!  
  
Garak felt his mouth fall open in shock right before Julian slammed him in the face with his forehead.  
  
Pain exploded from his nose and shot behind his eyes as he staggered back. He shook his head trying to clear the white heat from his vision even as his body automatically dropped into a true fighting crouch, ready to defend himself by pure instinct if necessary.  
  
As his vision cleared, he saw Julian sitting on the floor clutching his own head and cursing. He was doing some shaking of his own and it seemed his blow had caused himself as much or more damage as it had its intended victim.  
  
Garak dashed a hand across his lip as blood trickled down from his nose and he found his esteem of the young Human raising slightly higher than before. He looked down to the evidence of his injury and smiled a little to himself as he realized how far that esteem had climbed over the years.  
  
“Do you think this is _funny?_ ”

It seemed the Doctor had recovered. Garak found himself snapping to alert as Julian pulled himself to his feet. The Cardassian took the opportunity to plant his dining table between them. It, and its single abandoned mug of now cold rokassa juice, serving as a barrier in case the younger man started in on his attack once more.  
  
Garak took a breath to reply _‘yes’_ but the look on the Human’s face erased it from his lips.  
  
There was anger still in the amber and emerald depths, but there was something else now, too. Something that overshadowed the anger and sent an icy chill through Garak’s heart. When he spoke, his voice was so soft Garak could barely hear him.  
  
“I’ve been sleeping at the O’Brien’s place for the past few nights. I finally decided to go back to my quarters tonight. I thought I was ready to make them mine again, to erase _its_ presence and reclaim my own space.”  
  
Julian’s hand flicked in a lightning quick move, tossing an item that had been hidden in his clenched right fist.  
  
Garak’s own hand snatched it from the air without a thought. Even though he already knew what it was, he couldn’t stop his hand from unfurling, or his eyes from casting down to look at it.  
  
A large grey scale lay in his open palm.  
  
He _knew_.  
  
Garak clicked his teeth closed, freezing in place as he waited for the final blow that was sure to sever any connection between them. He frantically tried to build up the walls of his heart as he waited for the pain to come.  
  
“Can you guess where I found that?”  
  
In his peripheral vision Garak could see Julian was resting his hands on either side of the table. He was grasping the corners so hard the tendons on his knuckles were standing out in sharp relief.  
  
Garak didn’t bother to answer.  
  
“In my _bed_.”  
  
Garak closed his eyes; there was no sense in denying the truth in a moment like this.  
  
“And it wasn‘t the only one,” Julian finished.  
  
Garak found his ever faithful words failing him as the web around him began to unravel. He watched the gossamer strands of friendship fray and dance in the wake of the oncoming storm. When Julian finally left, there would be nothing left of the delicate pattern the two had taken years to weave.  
  
Garak found he didn’t even have the courage to look Julian in the eye as his judgment was meted out.  
  
“When?” Julian asked.  
  
For once, Garak found he didn’t wish to hide his misery. He let it all pour out along with his words. For this last conversation between friends he could offer pure truth at least.  
  
“Not long after you were abducted, or rather immediately after you were replaced. We were having lunch and you - he - asked if we were having dinner at his or my quarters that night. I was… Well, let’s just say I received what I was hoping for.”  
  
“How could you not have known?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Garak answered. He opened his eyes and looked down at the scale still resting in his palm before continuing.  
  
“I should have.” Oh how everything was clear in hindsight. “You were - _he_ was - so nonchalant about it. As if it were something that happened all the time. I thought you were just trying to make it easier on us both, trying to save us from any awkwardness. The moment I saw you in the prison camp I realized that they had mistaken the nature of our relationship and the shape shifter was merely trying for… _authenticity_.”  
  
A mirthless laugh came from across the table.  
  
“Well, that all make marvelous sense, but you didn’t answer my question. How could you not have known?” Julian’s tone was unwavering. It pierced into the soft core of Garak’s own conscience without err.  
  
He found the need to defend himself.  
  
“He was very convincing.”  
  
“How did you not know?”    
  
Julian was nothing if not relentless. At having his pain so unerringly prodded, Garak found his own measure of anger. He finally snapped his eyes up to the young Doctor currently tormenting him.  
  
“No one else knew either.” Garak snapped, absolutely aware that he really shouldn’t if there was any hope they could salvage the tattered remains of this strange friendship.  
  
“You aren’t anyone else!” Julian was yelling at him again. “Why didn’t you see it wasn’t me?”  
  
Garak yelled back, his voice rising with each word demanding to know why he alone was being held so accountable for his error.  
  
“What about Captain Sisko? What about Major Kira, or Lieutenant Dax, or your medical staff? For that matter what about your best friend the Chief? Have you gone to their quarters in the middle of the night to rant and rave at them? I wasn’t the only one who was fooled! What about them? Have you asked them how they could have been so monumentally stupid as to not realize that he wasn’t you?”  
  
Garak had to duck to avoid the very well aimed mug of cold rokassa juice as Julian screamed at him. The Human’s face was red and his neck taut with the effort of it; the volume and vehemence was sure to do damage to his vocal cords.  
  
 _“I’m not in love with any of them!”_  
  
Garak froze, he might have been a statue for a split second. And then his brain caught onto the words and his heart thundered along after their meaning. A tiny _‘clink’_ was all that alerted him to the scale which had slipped from it perch in his palm.  
  
Julian loved him? It was impossible. Julian was furious that Garak had slept with his imposter believing it was the Doctor. Wasn’t it because the very idea disgusted him?  
  
Garak found the very particular scope of vision he saw the Doctor in begin to shift, as it did far too often. He dared to hope as he looked up to Julian’s eyes.  
  
There was so much naked hurt there, so much anguish at Garak’s unintended betrayal. For Garak that made it much worse. Betrayal was always meant to be deliberate; it should serve a purpose. It was not to be tossed around without cause or intent. And never would he betray Julian without very great and deliberate purpose.  
  
“Julian, I’m sorry.”  
  
“Did you call _him_ Julian?” The tone was no longer angry. Instead it was ragged, filled with despair. Julian went on.  
  
“Did you kiss him? Hold him? Did you make love to him and then talk about  The Never Ending Sacrifice?”  
  
Garak felt his own despair as he said the only thing he could, “I’m sorry.”  
  
Julian ignored him.  
  
“Did he see you naked? Did you tell him stories about Cardassia, call him ‘sweetheart’ in Kardasi? Did you walk along the Promenade arm in arm? Did you bathe with him?”  
  
On and on Julian went, tears rolling down his beautiful face as his voice grew more and more ragged. Over and over Garak said _“I’m sorry.”_  
  
How long did Garak listen to the pain he had caused, how long did he stand under the weight of his own misjudgment?  
  
Somewhere along the way, the tears stopped and Julian’s voice went hoarse.  
  
“Did you tell him you loved him?”  
  
Garak looked him in the eye and immediately knew. This was it, the last gossamer strand left after the storm. His answer would determine if it could be woven into something precious once more. Hope bloomed in his chest as he spoke with the full conviction of knowing his word was true.  
  
 _“No.”_  
  
Julian rushed to him, wrapping those arms around him in a crushing grip. He kissed him eagerly, their teeth clicking and Julian half laughing, half sobbing and gasping against his mouth.  
  
They stumbled towards the bedroom, Julian nearly tripping in his haste to remove his uniform.  
  
And, _Oh_ , how Garak should have known. Julian was awkward and blushing, confident and curious. He trembled and moaned and bloomed right before Garak’s eyes. Indeed, how could he have taken such a cheap imitation in this treasure’s place?  
  
The hair above Julian's cock was a tiny bit more coarse, the sheath that slid back to reveal the rose colored tip a bit more silken. The exposed testicles much more sensitive and the curious nipples far more resilient to his biting and sucking.  
  
And when he finally slid his lubricated fingers into the puckered entrance, he found heat unlike anything he had ever experienced in his years. It grasped at him, resisting the intrusion far more than its mocking predecessor. He had to work diligently, patiently, to gain its approval and permission. And when the ring of muscle finally gave way and graced his long ago everted _esch’vra_ with its soft secrets, he felt the nagging chill leave his bones as scorching heat enveloped him.  
  
When Garak began to move, Julian came alive beneath him. He arched and cried out, he rolled his hips even as he enticed with his hooded eyes. Garak found himself being led by nothing more than the unspoken clues of his Human. He was so vocal! The alien body was so beautiful, graceful and golden. Garak carded his fingers through the erotic patch of hair that traveled from navel to cock, ruffling the curls to scent the air.  
  
It was really _his_ Julian with him here and now. He was so vibrant and alive. The scent of his arousal enshrouded them, the flash of light on sweat slicked skin, the symphony of cries ringing in his ears....it was too much for Garak and his climax caught him by suprise. Beneath him, Julian let out a mournful sound as Garak withdrew his spent member. It turned to shocked delight when Garak thrust back in almost immediately with his ready and waiting _esch’arn_. Julian gave him a shocked smile and Garak answered with a grin and a raised brow.  
  
“You are - full of surprises - Garak. _AH!_ ”  
  
Garak gave another of those long thrusts that caused clear liquid to drip from the small hole on the tip of Julian’s member.  
  
Really, the foolish Founder’s had missed quite a few details in their duplicate. If he and Julian had been as close as the Founders has thought, Garak would have known something was amiss as soon as they slipped into bed.  
  
“I believe you should probably call me _‘Elim’_ at this point Doctor.”  
  
Garak gave a few sharp thrusts, just to listen to the intense cries they elicited from Julian. Fingernails dug sharply into his biceps and Julian curled up off the bed. Garak smirked at him as he began long gentle thrusts, allowing the gorgeous and sweating man to speak.  
  
After a few gasps of air, he didn’t disappoint. “Only if you - _ah!_ \- call me - Oh god! Right there! - _Julian!_ ”  
  
“Well of course, Julian.”  
  
“Damn you - not - even - _Ooo_ \- out of - Breath!”  
  
Garak chuckled and thrust _just so_ , causing Julian’s head to fall back even as his body drew taut. His moans took on a different pitch, and Garak watched as he climaxed. Long legs locked him in a vice like grip as Julian screamed, _“Elim!”_  
  
The look of pure pleasure, Julian’s essence coating them both, his name on those kiss reddened lips, and the pulsing grip on his sheathed _esch’arn_ brought Garak to his peak right alongside Julian.  
  
Garak held still, hands holding up thighs that had gone suddenly and completely limp along with the rest of their owner’s body. Unable to resist, Garak swiped a finger through one of the creamy pearls on Julian’s heaving chest and found yet another difference. He rumbled approval deep in his chest as he shifted back to allow his _esch’arn_ to retreat before beginning to lick the Human’s belly and chest clean. If he hadn’t been so thoroughly satisfied, he was sure his _esch’vra_ would eagerly approve of the mixture of pearly Human seed and sweat.  
  
As it was, the only response was a carelessly flung arm across his shoulders as Julian pulled him up for a deliciously messy and lazy kiss.  
  
When Julian pulled away for air, he asked, “So, any differences? Will you know when I’m replaced next time?”  
  
Garak kissed him gently before he answered, mirroring his lover’s teasing tone.  
  
“Of course, Julian.”  
  
“And what will give it away? If I may ask?”  
  
Garak gazed down, feeling the proverbial scales fall away from his eyes as he looked at Julian.  
  
At _his_ Julian. It turns out the answer was simple.  
  
“Because, I love you.”  
  
  
  
  
  


Epilogue

* * *

  
  
By the time the pair padded out to the replicator to procure some nourishment, Garak could see Cardassia peeking in through the porthole. He pulled Julian into his arms as he pointed out his oldest love to his newest one.  
  
They watched her from Julian’s room the next night. It turned out his room afforded an earlier viewing. It worked out quite well since Garak would need a good night’s sleep after working a full and productive day in his shop. And leaving a few scales in Julian’s new sheets.


End file.
